Scottish Executive

Air Services

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it intends to take regarding the level of landing charges at Inverness Airport.

Sarah Boyack: This is a matter for Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd which operates Inverness Airport.

Air Services

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to promote direct air links from Inverness to European destinations.

Sarah Boyack: It is for Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL), along with local stakeholders, to assess the potential for direct air links from Inverness to European destinations. HIAL also has the discretion to offer start-up rebates for new services. However, decisions on developing new air links are for the commercial judgement of airlines.

Air Services

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-10876 by Sarah Boyack on 1 December 2000, whether it will detail, for each air route within the Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd area, the reasons or criteria according to which each route is or is not subject to a public service obligation.

Sarah Boyack: The criteria used for the assessment of the current PSO routes were the same in each case and are contained within Article 4.1(a)-(d) of EC Regulation 2408/92. The other air routes in the Highlands and Islands are operating commercially and have not been subject to the imposition of PSOs.

Community Care

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that local authorities are fully open about and accountable for spending on the mentally ill and the elderly in community care budgets.

Malcolm Chisholm: Local authorities are democratically elected bodies accountable to their electorates. They are required to publish accounts which are subject to scrutiny by Audit Scotland. Authorities are also required to produce a range of returns specifying their expenditure on each client group. We are currently developing outcome agreements with authorities. It is proposed that from April 2002 local services for older people will be jointly resourced and jointly managed.

Domestic Abuse

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the figures for refuge spaces quoted in its press release of 29 November 2000 announcing the funding package to tackle domestic abuse include all refuge spaces provided by unaffiliated women’s aid groups.

Jackie Baillie: Our current figure of 360 refuge spaces is an approximate one but does include both affiliated and unaffiliated groups.

Europe

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many bilateral meetings it had with member states of the EU in the run-up to December’s EU Fisheries Council, when these meetings were held, who represented the Executive and member states and what the purpose was of each meeting.

Rhona Brankin: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-11918 on 19 January 2001.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has been consulted by the Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food or the other devolved administrations about proposals to introduce a new fishing fleet decommissioning scheme and what the outcome was of any such consultation.

Rhona Brankin: The Fisheries Departments have been in close touch on a range of matters, including calls from the industry for financial aid. Further discussion is envisaged in light of the outcome of Council negotiations in particular on whitefish TACs and quotas.

Fisheries

George Lyon (Argyll and Bute) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it uses to assess the impact of escaped farmed salmon on the native population of salmon in Scottish rivers.

Rhona Brankin: Details of numbers of fish identified as escaped farmed salmon that are caught in net and rod fisheries throughout Scotland are collected as part of the annual exercise to collect and collate catch statistics. Field studies have been carried out into spawning behaviour and potential effects of interbreeding.

Fisheries

George Lyon (Argyll and Bute) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what research is being undertaken to determine if there is a causal link between salmon farming and the decline of wild stocks, particularly with regard to the impact of sea lice.

Rhona Brankin: The Fisheries Research Services are conducting a four-year investigation (2000-04) of the interactions of sea lice between farmed and wild stocks. The project will also identify management strategies designed to reduce the risks identified.

Fisheries

George Lyon (Argyll and Bute) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will support the salmon farming industry in promoting quality assurance schemes and disseminating best practice to maintain and enhance the industry’s reputation for high quality natural produce.

Rhona Brankin: The Executive will continue to support the development of aquaculture within a framework which has proper regard for the environment and in particular the protection of wild fish. Maintaining the highest standards of husbandry, environmental protection and quality assurance are essential. The industry itself recognises this, and is actively co-operating with the Executive and other interests in such initiatives as the Tripartite Working Group, the Aquaculture Health Joint Working Group, and the recent production of the Code of Practice to avoid and minimise the impact of Infectious Salmon Anaemia . It has also developed, working with major customers and regulators, its own quality assurance and environmental management schemes.

Forestry

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will require that archaeological surveys are carried out before any forestry planting on new ground at the same time as Strategic Environmental Assessments are carried out.

Rhona Brankin: The Forestry Commission already requires archaeological surveys to be carried out as part of the environmental assessment of forestry planting proposals where there is likely to be a significant impact on the archaeological features of the area.

Fuel Poverty

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what definition of "fuel poverty" was used in determining the figure of 236,000 households in fuel poverty (Press Release SE3192/2000, 12 December 2000).

Jackie Baillie: The figure refers to the number of households which have to spend 10% or more of income on all fuel used in the home. The assessment is based on the results of the 1996 Scottish House Condition Survey.

Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has allocated to voluntary organisations providing support to children and adults suffering from attention deficiency disorder and/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive does not currently fund any specific voluntary organisation involved exclusively in supporting children and adults with attention deficiency disorder and/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD). However, the Executive’s Innovation Grants Programme of £6 million over the three years from April 2000 is supporting various voluntary organisation projects, some of which will benefit children with ADD/ADHD and other social and emotional behavioural difficulties.

  The Executive also administers grant schemes for voluntary organisations involved in providing support and services in the areas of health and social care. It would be open to any voluntary organisation engaged in supporting children with ADD/ADHD and their families to apply for funding under the appropriate grant scheme. I understand that no application from any such organisation has been received by the Health Department for the coming financial year. Any future application received would be carefully considered on its merits, alongside competing demands. It is impossible to say what the outcome would be.

Homelessness

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to address increases in homelessness in the past three years in the Forth Valley area.

Jackie Baillie: We are concerned about levels of homelessness throughout Scotland. This is why we have established the Homelessness Task Force to   look at the causes and nature of homelessness and to make recommendations for action. The Housing Bill introduced on 19 December incorporates recommendations from the task force, including extensions to the rights of homeless people and new statutory duties for local authorities. I announced on Monday that these recommendations would be backed by the allocation of £27 million to local authorities over the next three years.

  Since 1997 we have made available £42 million through the Rough Sleepers Initiative to assist local authorities in delivering a range of projects which tackle the problem of people sleeping rough. A further £5.2 million was made available this year to assist local authorities develop more appropriate temporary accommodation and reduce use of bed and breakfast. The following tables give details of the allocations to local authorities, including councils in the Forth Valley area, in respect of these initiatives.

  


RSI Allocations 
  



Local authority/organisation 
  

Total 1997-2002 
  



Aberdeen 
  

1,300,000 
  



Aberdeenshire 
  

137,000 
  



Angus 
  

52,000 
  



Argyll & Bute 
  

397,000 
  



Clackmannan 
  

30,000 
  



Dumfries & Galloway 
  

78,000 
  



Dundee 
  

1,400,000 
  



East & West Dunbartonshire (combined bid until 2000) 
  

121,000 
  



East Lothian 
  

326,000 
  



East Renfrewshire 
  

52,000 
  



Edinburgh 
  

9,400,00 
  



Falkirk 
  

792,000 
  



Fife 
  

1,500,000 
  



Glasgow 
  

14,200,000 
  



Highland 
  

642,000 
  



Inverclyde 
  

183,000 
  



Moray 
  

548,000 
  



Perth & Kinross 
  

1,600,000 
  



North, South & East Ayrshire (combined bid) 
  

925,000 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

1,300,000 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

438,000 
  



Shetland 
  

13,000 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

1,250,000 
  



Stirling 
  

88,000 
  



West Dunbartonshire (separate bid from 2000) 
  

190,000 
  



West Lothian 
  

270,000 
  



Glasgow Council for Single Homeless 
  

170,000 
  



Shelter 
  

214,000 
  



TOTAL 
  

£38,000,000 
  



  In addition to the allocations set out above, a further £4 million has been allocated this year through health boards to address the health needs of rough sleepers as follows:

  


Health Board 
  

(£) 
  



Greater Glasgow 
  

2,000,000 
  



Lothian 
  

1,000,000 
  



Argyll & Clyde 
  

138,000 
  



Ayrshire & Arran 
  

118,000 
  



Dumfries & Galloway 
  

50,000 
  



Fife 
  

103,000 
  



Forth Valley 
  

81,000 
  



Grampian 
  

150,000 
  



Highland 
  

68,000 
  



Lanarkshire 
  

164,000 
  



Tayside 
  

128,000 
  



  Funding Allocations for the Executive’s Temporary Accommodation Initiative

  


Aberdeenshire 
  

271,000 
  



Argyll and Bute 
  

289,000 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

180,000 
  



Dundee City 
  

40,000 
  



Edinburgh 
  

800,000 
  



East Dunbartonshire 
  

185,000 
  



East Lothian 
  

400,000 
  



Fife 
  

460,000 
  



Glasgow 
  

1,125,000 
  



Highland 
  

400,000 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

100,000 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

258,000 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

85,000 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

640,000 
  



Stirling 
  

75,000 
  



Total 
  

£5,308,000 
  



  These tables provide details of the initial allocations of funding. They do not take account of any subsequent slippage in spend.

Homelessness

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to support and encourage the Grand Central Union Scheme recently launched by The Big Issue in Glasgow as a means to tackle long-term unemployment and homelessness.

Jackie Baillie: The Executive has no plans to support this particular venture but the Executive welcomes and encourages such partnership initiatives between the voluntary and private sectors to address unemployment and homelessness.

Homelessness

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will develop its own, centrally-funded initiative similar to the Grand Central Union Scheme launched by The Big Issue in Glasgow to tackle long-term unemployment and homelessness.

Jackie Baillie: The Executive recognises the value of employment in both preventing homelessness in the first place, and as a route out of homelessness. Through the New Futures Fund we are ensuring that intensive support is being provided to many young homeless people to help them develop their employability and work skills. We have recently announced an additional £150,000 which will be channelled by Scottish Enterprise to existing projects in Glasgow that already receive funding for employment and training initiatives for homeless people through the New Futures Fund.

  We are also committed to the implementation of the recent report from the Glasgow Street Homelessness Review Team which recommended that work opportunities and the development of work orientated skills should be built into re-settlement programmes. Proposals for a possible pilot to move homeless people into jobs will be considered by the Homelessness Task Force in the New Year.

  In addition last week we announced that we would provide £100,000 to co-fund the piloting of a micro-credit partnership between the Big Issue and Street UK. Loan finance will be provided by the Bank of Scotland. Through the partnership loans will be available to micro-entrepreneurs excluded from access to fully commercial business finance. Pilots will be run in Glasgow and Edinburgh offering micro-finance and support to Big Issue vendors ready to move on and those working in the informal economy to help them move into self employment.

Housing

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance, financial or otherwise, is available to homeowners who have difficulty in selling their home as a result of other tenants within the building which they live in being drug dealers and/or drug users.

Jackie Baillie: There is no financial assistance available to homeowners but landlords have powers to take eviction action, where appropriate, against tenants who are drug dealers and/or drug users. Under the Housing (Scotland) Acts 1987 and 1988, public sector landlords and private landlords can apply to the courts for possession of their property where the tenant, or anyone living with the tenant, has caused a nuisance or annoyance to neighbours or has been convicted by a court of immoral or illegal use of the premises. This legislation was strengthened under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 which brought in extended grounds for eviction which allows landlords to repossess a house where criminal conduct has been committed; anti-social behaviour has been committed or is likely to be committed, either in the locality of the tenanted property by the tenant, or someone residing or lodging with him, or by visitors to the property. This enables tougher action to be taken against drug-dealers and other criminals, and facilitates the use of professional witnesses.

  The forthcoming Housing Bill will seek to introduce Probationary Tenancies on a discretionary basis and to suspend the Right To Buy for anti-social tenants while eviction proceedings are taking place. A £250,000 package of measures has recently been announced which is designed to tackle the problem of nuisance neighbours, including the creation of a Sociable Neighbourhood National Co-ordinator, who will promote good practice across Scotland and work with councils and others to develop successful strategies.

Justice

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement by the Lord Advocate on 29 November 2000 ( Official Report , col. 413) on the Chhokar case, whether Sir Anthony Campbell will appoint his own staff and choose which senior Scottish counsel are to assist him with the inquiry.

Colin Boyd: A member of legal staff from Crown Office and the Procurator Fiscal Service has been appointed on secondment to act as Secretary to the inquiry by Sir Anthony Campbell. This appointment was by the Crown Agent. During the inquiry this member of staff will be subject to the direction and control of Sir Anthony Campbell.

  Mr G Moynihan QC, Advocate will act as Counsel to the Inquiry. Mr Moynihan QC was appointed at the request of Sir Anthony Campbell on the recommendation of the Lord Advocate.

Justice

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement by the Lord Advocate on 29 November 2000 ( Official Report , col. 413) on the Chhokar case, whether the Crown Office will be providing support staff to Sir Anthony Campbell and, if so, under whose control they will be during the inquiry.

Colin Boyd: A member of legal staff from Crown Office and the Procurator Fiscal Service has been appointed on secondment to act as Secretary to the inquiry by Sir Anthony Campbell. During the inquiry this member of staff will be subject to the direction and control of Sir Anthony Campbell.

NHS Funding

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all NHSiS Trusts will be given the same repayment terms should the Executive seek to recover overspends.

Susan Deacon: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-10717 on 12 January 2001.

NHS Funding

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what is being done to assist NHSiS Trusts to balance their costs with the level of available resources.

Susan Deacon: My officials are actively working with health boards and NHS Trusts to develop effective financial planning and budgeting tools.

  Significant additional resources are being invested in the NHS in Scotland this year and next which, together with effective planning and budgeting, will allow NHS Trusts to balance costs against resources available.

NHS Staff

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that any stress experienced by staff in the NHSiS is minimised.

Susan Deacon: Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change affirms that protecting the health and well being of NHS staff must be a priority and places a clear requirement on NHS Scotland employers to implement the occupational health and safety strategy for NHS Scotland employees, Towards a Safer Healthier Workplace . That strategy requires employers to implement policies aimed at reducing stress in the workplace and for the occupational health service to offer a confidential counselling and advice service to all staff as well as providing occupational health surveillance programmes. It is open to any member of staff to refer themselves to the occupational health service at any time.

National Cultural Strategy

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how, when and to whom the funding for traditional arts and music, as referred to in the National Cultural Strategy , is to be allocated.

Allan Wilson: The Scottish Arts Council are at present devising the detailed criteria for the new programme which will guide their allocation of the available funds.

Police

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail any representations made or to be made to promote the Scottish Police Force College, Tulliallan as the proposed training centre for senior European police officers; whether any meetings have been held with the Home Office on this matter and the promotion of the Police Staff College, Bramshill, Hampshire as the proposed centre; when any such meetings took place; who attended any such meetings, and what education and training criteria will be used to choose the eventual candidate.

Mr Jim Wallace: The European Council in Tampere agreed that the European Police College should be set up from 1 January 2001 initially for a period of three years as a network which would bring together the national training institutes for senior police officers in member states. The Scottish Police College will be part of that network. No training centre is currently proposed and the questions of the promotion of a location for such a centre and education and training criterion for attendance have not arisen. The location of the Secretariat to the College is however being considered at present. It will assist the college with its administrative tasks and manage the college’s budget. The UK bid is amongst the countries which have offered to host the Secretariat. The UK’s offer envisages the Secretariat being run jointly by National Police Training, Bramshill and the Scottish Police College who would second an officer to Bramshill. No meetings have taken place with the Home Office on the location of the Secretariat although officials are in regular contact. The intention is that the location of the Secretariat will be decided by the European Council during the Swedish Presidency.

Police

Euan Robson (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many new recruits entered the police force in each year since 1980 and what the projected numbers of new recruits are for those future years for which figures are available, broken down by police force.

Mr Jim Wallace: The available information is shown in the following table:

  Number of New Recruits to the Scottish Police Service

  


Year 
  

Number 
  

Year 
  

Number 
  



1980 
  

699 
  

1990 
  

499 
  



1981 
  

465 
  

1991 
  

605 
  



1982 
  

511 
  

1992 
  

719 
  



1983 
  

463 
  

1993 
  

621 
  



1984 
  

614 
  

1994 
  

639 
  



1985 
  

676 
  

1/1/95 to 31/3/96 
  

910 
  



1986 
  

609 
  

1996-97 
  

743 
  



1987 
  

518 
  

1997-98 
  

664 
  



1988 
  

523 
  

1998-99 
  

321 
  



1989 
  

759 
  

1999-2000 
  

437 
  



  Figures on new recruits to the police service are collected annually by HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary and are published in his Annual Report. Figures for individual forces are not held centrally. Until 31 December 1994 figures were collected by calendar year but thereafter cover financial years. In order to allow for this change the numbers for 1 January 1995 to 31 March 1996 cover a 15-month period.

  Decisions on the numbers of officers to be recruited are the responsibility of chief constables.

Police

Euan Robson (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many police officers have left the service in each year since 1990.

Mr Jim Wallace: The information is provided in the following table:

  


Year 
  

Number of Officers Who Left the Scottish 
  Police Service 




1990 
  

501 
  



1991 
  

552 
  



1992 
  

584 
  



1993 
  

605 
  



1994 
  

483 
  



1/1/95 to 31/3/96 
  

748 
  



1996-97 
  

537 
  



1997-98 
  

563 
  



1998-99 
  

543 
  



1999-2000 
  

569 
  



  Figures on officers leaving the police service are collected annually by HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary and published in his Annual Report. Until 31 December 1994 figures were collected by calendar year but thereafter cover financial years. For adjusting to this change the numbers shown from 1 January 1995 to 31 March 1996 cover a 15-month period.

Police

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-10872 by Mr Jim Wallace on 30 November 2000, what proportion of the costs projected for the period 2001-02 to 2003-04 by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland was accounted for by the proposed increases in staff and how many additional staff these projections proposed, in total and broken down by the proposed increase in (a) uniformed and (b) support staff in each police force.

Mr Jim Wallace: The costs projected for the period 2001-02 to 2003-04 by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland were based on broadly maintaining current levels of service. But the Scottish Executive has made available 100% grant to specifically boost police numbers by allowing for the recruitment of up to 300 extra officers/support staff. In addition, funding is also being provided through the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency (SDEA) to allow for 100 officers to be deployed in forces on drugs work at local level. The estimated impact on staffing of these particular initiatives is shown in the following table.

  

 

100% Funding 
  
 


 

Police Officers 
  

Support Staff 
  

SDEA Funding 
  



Central 
  

15 
  

13 
  

5 
  



Dumfries & Galloway 
  

3 
  

12 
  

3 
  



Fife 
  

11 
  

9 
  

6 
  



Grampian 
  

24 
  

5 
  

8 
  



Lothian & Borders 
  

39 
  

25 
  

18 
  



Northern 
  

17 
  

0 
  

5 
  



Strathclyde 
  

148 
  

0 
  

47 
  



Tayside 
  

22 
  

3 
  

8 
  



Total 
  

262 
  

67 
  

100

Ports

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it holds regarding the level of landing charges for cruise liners at Scottish ports.

Sarah Boyack: The level of harbour dues for ships, passengers and goods at Scottish ports and harbours is a matter for the port or harbour authority concerned. Information on the level of charges is not held centrally.

Public Appointments

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what methods Learning and Teaching Scotland used to assess the applications it received for posts in its senior management team.

Mr Jack McConnell: The appointment process for the post of Chief Executive was managed by the Education Department. It followed the procedures as set out in the Commissioner for Public Appointments’ Guidance on Appointments to Public Bodies, including the involvement of an independent assessor at both the sift and interview stages.

  The appointment process for the Assistant Chief Executive posts was a matter for Learning and Teaching Scotland. Each of the candidates was interviewed by an Appointments Board, on which my department was represented. Candidates were assessed on the basis of their CVs, their previous experience and performance, and their match with the job description and person specification approved by the board of LT Scotland.

Public Appointments

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the names are of all those who have served as independent assessors in relation to public appointments in Scotland since 1 July 1999, specifying in each case whether the person currently remains an independent assessor and the process by which they were appointed as an independent assessor.

Angus MacKay: Details of those who have held positions as Independent Assessors since 1 July 1999 are as follows:

  


Assessors currently in post 
  



Prof. Kathleen Anderson OBE 
  

appointment ends 30 June 2001 
  



Dr Tom Begg OBE 
  

appointment ends 30 June 2001 
  



Mr Ian Collie 
  

appointment ends 30 June 2001 
  



Mr Andrew Cubie 
  

appointment ends 30 June 2001 
  



Mrs Christine Davies CBE 
  

appointment ends 30 August 2002 
  



Mr Alastair Dempster 
  

appointment ends 30 August 2002 
  



Mr George Esson CBE 
  

appointment ends 30 June 2001 
  



Sir Charles Fraser KCVO 
  

appointment ends 30 June 2001 
  



Lady Marion Fraser LT 
  

appointment ends 30 August 2002 
  



Mr Ian Grant CBE 
  

appointment ends 30 June 2001 
  



Ms Mary Hartnoll CBE 
  

appointment ends 30 August 2002 
  



Mrs Deirdre Hutton CBE 
  

appointment ends 30 August 2002 
  



Mr Neil McIntosh CBE 
  

appointment ends 30 June 2001 
  



Ms Jane McKay 
  

appointment ends 30 August 2002 
  



Dr Calum McLeod CBE 
  

appointment ends 30 June 2001 
  



Lord Provost Eric Milligan 
  

appointment ends 30 August 2002 
  



Mrs Winifred Sherry 
  

appointment ends 30 June 2001 
  



  


Former Assessors 
  



Professor Tom Anderson 
  

appointment ended 30 June 2000 
  



Mr Charles Gray CBE 
  

appointment ended 30 June 2000 
  



Mr Roger Kent 
  

appointment ended 30 June 2000 
  



Mr Hugh MacLean 
  

appointment ended 30 June 2000 
  



Mr Duncan McPherson CBE 
  

appointment ended 30 June 2000 
  



Ms Anne Mearns 
  

appointment ended 30 June 2000 
  



Mr Garth Morrison CBE 
  

appointment ended 30 June 2000 
  



Professor Sir William Stewart 
  

appointment ended 30 June 2000 
  



Mr Ernie Walker 
  

appointment ended 30 June 2000 
  



  In 1996 the then Secretary of State took the decision that the new posts of Independent Assessor should be advertised. Advertisements were placed in the Herald, Scotsman, Dundee Courier and the Press & Journal. Out of some 60 applications received only two were considered suitable. A further 20 individuals were identified by means of a departmental trawl, all but one of whom agreed to serve. None of the posts filled since 1996 has been advertised.

  I shall announce shortly the appointment of eight new independent assessors.

Roads

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it proposes to take in light of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities report that £1 billion is needed to bring Scotland’s roads network up to standard.

Sarah Boyack: The Minister for Finance and Local Government announced on 7 December that councils are to benefit from record levels of grant support over the next three years, including a 40% increase in capital allocations. These allocations include the extra £70 million to tackle the backlog of repairs and maintenance on local roads and bridges announced by me on 28 September following the Spending Review.

Roads

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-3678 by Sarah Boyack on 26 January 2000, what other funding mechanisms it will investigate to fund the upgrading of the A77 if it decides that a Public/Private Partnership approach does not offer value for money.

Sarah Boyack: Should the PPP approach to procurement for the joint M77/Glasgow Southern Orbital Route project not provide value for money, funding for the M77 construction would fall on the Motorway and Trunk Road Programme, displacing other priorities.

Scottish Executive Procurement

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will respond to the statement by the Institute of Civil Engineers, Scotland in the October 2000 issue of Ice Breaker regarding its procurement record.

Angus MacKay: The importance of professional expertise in the management of the Scottish Executive’s major construction projects is recognised. As well as the appointment of professionals to provide design and cost control services, professionally qualified project managers are normally employed, and where clients themselves are not technical experts, they are supported by client advisers with the appropriate expertise.

Social Inclusion Partnerships

Mike Watson (Glasgow Cathcart) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to its announcement of the Social Inclusion Partnership (SIP) funding allocation for 2002-03 to 2003-04 on 28 December 2000, whether this announcement included any SIP allocation to Castlemilk in Glasgow.

Ms Margaret Curran: We announced recently that we are providing provisional funding allocations of £105.5 million to Social Inclusion Partnerships in 2002-03 and 2003-04. This figure does not include allocations for any of the three former New Life Partnership areas – Castlemilk, Wester Hailes, and Ferguslie Park. Future funding for these areas is currently being considered.

Special Educational Needs

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it gave to the needs of children and adults with attention deficiency disorder and/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in any reviews of provisions for people with special educational needs or learning disabilities.

Nicol Stephen: There has been no specific consideration of provision for children and adults with attention deficiency disorder and/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD) in recent reviews. However, the Scottish Executive is providing over £5 million per year to local authorities for the development and training of classroom-based staff and trainee educational psychologists working with children with special educational needs, including those with ADD/ADHD. £1 million of this funding is directed towards early intervention.

  In addition, the Scottish Executive Alternatives to Exclusion Grant Scheme is supporting projects which will benefit children and young people with ADD/ADHD. These projects include school support units, programmes of personal and social development, enhanced staffing for schools, vocational schemes, behaviour support systems and outreach services into schools.

Special Educational Needs

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11834 by Nicol Stephen on 21 December 2000, whether it will make arrangements to collect centrally information on the number of special educational needs units within state schools which have closed since 1997 to date, broken down by local authority.

Nicol Stephen: The Executive has no such plans at present.

Tourism

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-11611 by Mr Alasdair Morrison on 13 December 2000, what evidence it has that the change of name of the Scottish Tourist Board to visitscotland will have a positive impact.

Mr Alasdair Morrison: An independent review of the STB found that there would be benefit in changing its name to visitscotland. This proposal provides an opportunity to re-brand the public sector bodies that support the tourism industry. The STB believes that consistency of branding, including the Scottish tourism website, which is attracting around 10,000 user sessions per day, will raise the visibility of Scotland’s tourism product.

Transport

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-10164 by Sarah Boyack on 28 October 2000, when it will announce the criteria for defining which areas should be targeted for extra resources under the Powershift programme.

Sarah Boyack: A list of postcodes defining the areas to be targeted for the additional resources for Powershift was passed to the Energy Savings Trust by the Scottish Executive on 17 November. The criterion used to determine this list was a drivetime of over 30 minutes from settlements with a population of 10,000, as I explained in my answer to S1O-2675 on 7 December.

Water Authorities

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many employees have been employed in each water authority in each year since their establishment to date.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The average employee numbers for each authority for each year from 1996-97 to 1999-2000 is given in the following table:

  


Year 
  

West of Scotland Water Authority 
  

East of Scotland Water Authority 
  

North of Scotland Water Authority 
  



1996-97 
  

2,888 
  

1,968 
  

1,947 
  



1997-98 
  

2,710 
  

2,013 
  

1,911 
  



1998-99 
  

2,661 
  

1,850 
  

1,876 
  



1999-2000 
  

2,634 
  

1,767 
  

1,837

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Holyrood Project

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Presiding Officer what capital contracts have been let to date in relation to the Holyrood Project, indicating in each case the successful tenderer and the timescale for each works package.

Sir David Steel: The information is as follows:

  


Works Package 
  

Contractor 
  

Estimated contract duration 
  



Retention West Basement 
  

Amec Civil Engineering Ltd 
  

4 months 
  



Excavation West 
  

Barr Ltd 
  

3 months 
  



Well Probing 
  

Wimtec Environmental Ltd 
  

11 months 
  



Piling West Basement 
  

Amec Civil Engineering Ltd 
  

3 months 
  



Substructure West Basement 
  

O’Rourke Civil Engineering Ltd 
  

5 months 
  



Tower Cranes 
  

Select Plant Hire Ltd 
  

20 months 
  



Asbestos/Pigeon Dropping Removal 
  

Chamic Industrial Services Ltd 
  

5 months 
  



Well Drilling 
  

Richies Ltd 
  

5 months 
  



QH Scaffolding 
  

Lyndon Scaffolding PLC 
  

19 months 
  



MSP Frame 
  

O’Rourke Civil Engineering Ltd 
  

10 months 
  



Electrical Enabling Works 
  

James Scott Ltd 
  

10 months 
  



Lifts Whole Site 
  

Otis Limited 
  

24 months 
  



QH Demolition/Reconstruction 
  

Ballast Construction Scotland Ltd 
  

17 months 
  



Substructure East Basement 
  

O’Rourke Civil Engineering Limited 
  

7 months

Holyrood Project

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Presiding Officer what the total value is of all works packages let to date in relation to the Holyrood Project and what proportion of the construction and construction contingency budget of £119 million has been (a) spent and (b) committed to date.

Sir David Steel: The total value of all works packages let to date is £21.8 million. Some 13% of the construction and contingency budget of £119 million has been spent to date and around 20% of that total figure is committed. To date, none of the contingency element of the budget has been spent or committed.

Holyrood Project

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Presiding Officer which works packages still to go to tender in relation to the Holyrood project may be compromised by a decision to divulge the value of contracts let after earlier, similar tendering exercises.

Sir David Steel: The Convener of the Holyrood Progress Group has already stated that, in principle and with the agreement of the contractors involved, information concerning the value of contracts let should be put into the public domain. However, I understand that at this point in the programme, our negotiating position in relation to all future packages could potentially be prejudiced by releasing the details of earlier contracts. This position should ease in the very near future and wherever possible this information will be reported to MSPs as soon as is practicable.

Holyrood Project

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Presiding Officer whether the cost plan allowances for the substructure east and superstructure east are £5.8 million and £17 million respectively, as stated by the Holyrood Project Manager on 3 October 2000 (Audit Committee, Official Report , col. 408); whether potential contractors are routinely made aware of the cost plan allowances for each works package, and whether the cost plan allowances for each of the 91 works packages will be revealed to MSPs.

Sir David Steel: The Convener of the Holyrood Progress Group has confirmed that the figures quoted are relevant cost plan allowances which are indicative estimates of contract values. In normal circumstances these figures are not put in the public domain nor provided to potential contractors in line with existing guidelines for commercial confidentiality.

Holyrood Project

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Presiding Officer,  further to the statement by the Parliament’s Clerk/Chief Executive on 3 October 2000 regarding the provision of information on the costs of major works packages (Audit Committee, Official Report, col. 407), what information will be made available to the Audit Committee about the value of contracts let for the major works packages in relation to the Holyrood Project, and whether such information will be given to all MSPs at the same time and on the same basis.

Sir David Steel: As the Clerk indicated, the Audit Committee will be provided with information in respect of a number of imminent major works contracts as they are let, subject to the agreement of the relevant contractors. This information will indicate any variance in the final tender prices from the estimated allowances in the works package cost plan and will comment on the relevance of these outturns to the overall financial target of £195 million. The Holyrood Progress Group intends to make this information available to all MSPs.